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Originally Posted by Barb_FL
I'm at the end of my season and I'm seeing more of the leaf footed bugs than I have in all the other years combined.
ETA - I had more caterpillars and tomato horn worms this year also.
I'm not good at catching them, and usually don't have my gloves on, but sometimes I get lucky and snip them in half or a leg which then really slows them down for the final slash.
Last year I saw beetles for the first time ever, but none this year.
Also the birds have not been too bad; Usually it is the bluejays and mockingbirds. I did leave a lot of decoys up since the hail in late March.
Also since the hail, the few new yellow sticky cards I put out got covered with love bugs, so I am seeing a few aphids per plant here and there.
I haven't bothered to spray since it is so late; blasting the plants with the flat cycle on the hose.
Most of my plants still look really good.
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Good luck with the remainder of your season. I hope you stay bug and disease free.
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Barb it might do you some good next year if you would try to eliminate as many of the leaf footed bugs as you can here at the end of your season. If you go out into the garden late in the evening after the sun is down you can usually find leaf footed bugs sitting near the tops of tomatoes and other plants. They are fairly easy to spot against the evening sky if you look closely. Late in my season I go out armed with a small spray bottle with some Dawn, Permethrin and water and zap them. This way I don't have to spray everything to get them. I also go out very early around sunrise all season and look for the herds of juvenile leaf footed bugs, stink bugs and squash bugs and using the same spray hit them with a burst. They tend to stick together for a few days before spreading out and really making a mess of things so it is the ideal time to get them all bunched up.
Bill